Kyndra's
fate holds betrayal and salvation, but the journey starts in her small
village. On the day she comes of age, she accidentally disrupts an
ancient ceremony, ending centuries of tradition. So when an unnatural
storm targets her superstitious community, Kyndra is blamed. She fears
for her life until two strangers save her, by wielding powers not seen
for an age - powers fuelled by the sun and the moon.

Together,
they flee to the hidden citadel of Naris. And here, Kyndra experiences
disturbing visions of the past, showing war and one man's terrifying
response. She'll learn more in the city's subterranean chambers, amongst
fanatics and rebels. But first Kyndra will be brutally tested in a bid
to unlock her own magic.

If she survives the ordeal, she'll
discover a force greater than she could ever have imagined. But could it
create as well as destroy? And can she control it, to right an ancient
wrong?

My Review:

Starborn follows Kyndra as she is taken away after the Breaking destroys her hometown. On her journey, Kyndra is left
questioning her what is happening to her, where she is going, and who the
strangers whom have taken her might be.

The strangers in question are Brégenne and Nediah, two
Wielders from Naris. We learn more about them and the land they come from as
the story progresses. They were the most fascinating characters for me
throughout the story.

I adored learning more about Brégenne. At the beginning, she
seemed so cold and I was unsure whether to trust her or not, but the more I
read of her, the more I began to appreciate her. I think the relationship
between her and Nediah is complex and well written. There was a scene between
the two of them that occurred at the very end of the book that shocked me, and
I’m eager to find out what the repercussions will be. I’d also like to discover
more of Nediah’s backstory further in the trilogy.

Kyndra was character who became stronger throughout
the story, and I admired her determination. I still think she has a lot more to
offer, so I’m excited to see how she develops because I think she could totally
kick some ass in the future.

There’s a great variety of characters from start to finish,
and they’re all interesting, whether they’re good or bad. However, one
character that left me confused was Gareth. When Gareth is first introduced,
the only word I can use to describe him is vile. He treats Kyndra horribly.
However, later on in the book, Kyndra seems to befriend him and he is shown as
a completely different person. That may
be because of the world he lives in and his upbringing, but because the reader
doesn’t know anything about that, it is very hard to forgive his initial
actions. I’m still interested to see what part he plays in the future of this series.

The plot was exciting and fast paced. I’ll admit, I was
confused during the first couple of chapters because I didn’t really understand
what was happening, but I was still completely drawn into the story.

The final couple of chapters are intense and make for a
fantastic ending. There are actions that will definitely have
repercussions in the future, and I can’t wait to see how the characters handle
the situations in the next book.

Hounsom is fantastic at world building, and the world within
this story is like nothing I’ve read before. It has a unique edge to it that
sets it apart from other fantasy novels. I’m eager to see more of what this
world has in store for its characters.

This is a very high fantasy story, and lovers of the fantasy
genre will definitely want to give this book a read. It’s a promising start to
a series that has huge potential.

Monday, 20 April 2015

I'm excited to share with you this awesome interview with author Jo Ramsey!

What made you want to write for a YA audience?

I've
been writing stories for and about teenagers since I was one. About 30
years now. I sometimes say I never really outgrew my own teen years, and
some of my stories are written to give myself a do-over on things that
happened when I was in high school.

I've also worked with teenagers
as a teacher or teacher's aide, and I've known many who were
discouraged, or who were making poor choices because they didn't know
any other choices to make. I met a lot of teens who didn't believe in
themselves, but encouragement and support went a long way. I write for
the teens who wonder if they're "okay", or who think they aren't
anything special, or who don't believe they'll ever do anything
important. That's why my tagline is "Anyone can be a hero."

What were some of your own favourite stories to read as a
teenager?

As a teen, I was really into
fantasy. Susan Cooper and Madeleine L'Engle were two of my favorite
authors. Pretty much anything that involved a "normal" teen being pulled
into a fantastic world where they were able to save people/the
universe/whatever, I would read and love.

Where do you find inspiration for the stories you write?

All
over the place. My kids are teenagers right now (though the older one
disputes that, since she'll be 20 this summer), and they and their
friends have inspired a lot of my recent projects. Some of my older, now
out-of-print, books were inspired by my own experiences as a teen.

Have you ever related to any of the characters in your books?

Very
much so. My Reality Shift series (which is unfortunately among the
books that are now out of print) was somewhat autobiographical, in that
many of Shanna Bailey's experiences, fears, and other issues were mine,
either when I was a teen or when I was an adult. I took some of my adult
experiences, including my journey of healing and recovery from abuse,
and aged them down to reach teenagers.

What have been the best and worst parts of the writing
process for you?

The best part is seeing the
finished product available to readers. The worst part is revising my
first draft. Though sometimes writing the first draft isn't completely
fun...I love having written, but actually writing isn't always the best.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers out there?

Write
for yourself above all. If you write a story you aren't really
interested in because you think other people will read it, they won't
read it, because your lack of interest will show in the writing. Write
what calls to YOU.

Which novel are you working on at the moment?

I
just submitted the fifth novel in my Deep Secrets and Hope series, so
I'm taking a bit of a break before I start writing anything else.

Thanks to Jo for taking the time to answer these questions! Be sure to read more about her stories on her website, and you check out her twitter page here.

David
Piper has always been an outsider. His parents think he’s gay. The
school bully thinks he’s a freak. Only his two best friends know the
real truth – David wants to be a girl.

On the first day at his
new school Leo Denton has one goal – to be invisible. Attracting the
attention of the most beautiful girl in year eleven is definitely not
part of that plan.

When Leo stands up for David in a fight, an
unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at
Eden Park School secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for
long…

My Review:

This story follows David and Leo as they form an unlikely friendship
after Leo transfers to Eden Park School. David was a girl born inside a boy’s
body, and the only two people who know about it are his two best friends. He
wants to tell his parents but doesn’t know how to. He assumes that they think
he is is gay, and have been waiting for him to tell them so, but he doesn’t know
how to explain to them that he’s not gay. He’s actually a straight girl.

When the school’s bully gets hold of the notebook David uses
to write about the changes happening to his body, Leo steps in to help. When
the pair end up in detention together, they slowly start to get to know each
other more.

Heart-warming, witty, and full of brilliant characters, I completely
fell in love with The Art of Being Normal.
The characters and events throughout the story are believable and beautifully
written. Both protagonists had their own individual voice and personality, and
the scenes between them were wonderful to read.

The character progression of both Leo and David was
perfectly executed. I loved watching them grow throughout each chapter. This isn’t just a book about transgender issues; it’s about watching these characters
develop and overcome their own personal problems and doubts.

I’m glad that David had his best friends, Essie and Felix,
throughout the story. They were incredibly supportive of him, and it was good
for him to have people to share everything with. Leo, on the other hand, is reserved
to begin with and doesn’t have any desire to find close friends, so it was
great seeing him slowly open up to David and finally learn that friendship isn’t
a bad thing.

Leo’s story was fantastically written. Williamson has a
great way of conveying the emotions that run through the minds of the
characters and I feel she did this exceptionally well with Leo. When we finally
find out what event happened in Leo’s past for him to have to move schools, I had
to fight back the tears. It broke my heart, but it was so important to read.

There is a lot I would like to say about different parts of
this book, but I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone! Just know that it now
owns a little piece of my heart. As well as showing readers a glimpse at the struggles
these characters have to face, this story is also packed with humour, hope, and
beautiful moments that will stay with us long after the last page.

It’s also a fantastic example of good UKYA, and I can’t wait
to see what else Lisa Williamson has in store. There was a lot of buzz online about
this book before I read it, and now I see why. It’s a story that does live up
to the hype. I’m excited to see more and more readers pick it up and fall in
love with the characters as I did.

*I used male pronouns in regards to David in this review
because they are used within the book.*

Sunday, 12 April 2015

As you probably already know, today is UKYA Day, an event
organised by the awesome Lucy from Queen of Contemporary, who has done so much to
show her support for UKYA over the years.

And since we’re discussing all things UKYA, I just wanted to
take a little time to reflect on why it’s been so important to me. We have so
many UK authors and stories that we need to be celebrating, and over the past
year, I’ve seen a lot more of them see success, and I couldn’t be happier!

But for today, I wanted to go back to a part of my bookshelf
that gathers a little more dust than the rest, containing the books I’ve had for
a long while. I wanted to remember some of the UKYA reads I discovered in my
early teens, and why I loved them so much.

I grew up with the series and Georgia still remains one of
my all-time favourite characters today. The books perfectly captured the
lives of British teenagers in a way not many other books could at the time, and
I think that’s why I loved them so much. They the first stories I
remember reading with my friends. Reading was normally something that I didn’t
get to talk about all that much because none of my friends were readers, but
this was the one series that we actually all loved. Oh, how we wanted (and
tried) to be the Ace Gang, and go in search of our very own Sex Gods. This series helped me laugh my way through my awkward
teenage years, and it’ll always stay close to my heart.

Also hanging around on my bookshelf was Voices by Sue
Mayfield. Sue is an author whose books I remember always picking up in my high school library, but I very rarely see her books talked about now.

Voices is a contemporary story about a message in a bottle,
and I completely fell in love with the idea of it. The characters and the plot
are wonderful, and it’s a story I’ve gone back to read a few times over the
years. It was originally published in 2003, but I’d love to see readers
enjoying it now.

The other book I found whilst searching for the ghosts of
UKYA past is Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning.

Again, Sarra was an author I’d
always seek out at the library, but Guitar Girl was and still is my favourite
book by her. It’s a story of teens finding success in a band, but rock
and roll fame it isn’t everything they pictured it to be. I remember flying
through this book in a day because I couldn’t put it down. It comes with
awesome characters and songs you wish were real.

So there is my nostalgic trip to UKYA times gone by. I love
seeing the amount of awesome books coming out of Britain now and gaining popularity
across the world. It shows just how much UKYA has managed to progress over the
years. I vow to never again let some of my British books gather dust on a
lonely shelf, because they really did help shape the reader I am today.

What have been your favourite UKYA reads of all time? What books do you wish more people would pick up? Let me know! Also, be sure to get involved with all the action on Twitter by using the #UKYADay hashtag!

Saturday, 11 April 2015

I'm excited to share with you this awesome interview with Jennie Wood, author of A Boy Like Me.

Hi, Jennie! Your novel was touching to read.

JW: Thank you so much!

What was it that made you want to tell Peyton’s story?

JW: When I began working on A Boy Like Me, I was taking a break from writing Flutter, which is a graphic novel series
about a girl who shape-shifts into a boy to get the girl. Minus the sci-fi shape-shifting element, Flutter is a story very close to my own.
Growing up in a small, conservative town, I spent a lot of time imagining what
my life would be like as a boy. I’d watch my guy friends and male cousins take
girls on dates to the movie theater. A girl taking a girl to the movies just
didn’t happen in my town and I wasn’t even out yet, not even to myself. At that
point, my mind just didn’t allow itself to go there so I just imagined my life
as a boy and that became the basis for Flutter.

While taking a break from Flutter, I wanted to spend some time with a story that was different
from my own experience. Instead of a girl imagining
life as a boy, I wanted to write from the point of view of a guy who had been
assigned the wrong gender at birth. I wanted to spend some time with a guy who
saw the world in very black and white terms because that’s the view, the world
he’s raised in, but his own personal situation forces him beyond that mindset.

What sort of research went into writing the book?

JW: The subject matter is something that’s extremely
important to me so I did a ton of research before I began the first draft. I spent
a lot of time reading nonfiction, especially first hand accounts, interviews,
and anthologies. One major source was Aaron Devor’s FTM: Female-to-Male
Transsexuals in Society, which I reference directly in the novel. I also talked
to transgender individuals directly. What I realized pretty quickly was that
while some situations, feelings, and experiences were similar, everyone had
their own individual way of accepting, embracing, and becoming who they were.
It was very important to me to not write
an issue book, to not write a
character attempting to represent one definitive experience.

While writing the novel, I focused on giving Peyton
his own individual experience. His behavior and his inability to express
himself reflected the world he was raised in. His confusion comes from a lack
of language and communication skills.

When working on final revisions, I asked Tate Fox to
be the novel’s content consultant. Tate was just a little older than Peyton is in
the novel and had some similar experiences. Tate gave me feedback on language,
situations, reactions, and dialogue for the entire book.

What was it that made you write for a YA audience?

JW: A Boy Like Me being a YA novel was a
happy accident. I didn’t set out to write it as YA. The first draft spanned 30
years of Peyton’s life. But the more drafts I did, I realized the most
important part of Peyton’s story was around the moment when he embraces who he
is and the events leading up to that moment.

For example, whatever medical interventions he decides
to do - or not do - later on is less important. Because Peyton’s a teenager
when he begins to realize and accept who he is, that makes it a YA novel. I’m
happy that A Boy Like Me turned out
to be YA. Some of my all-time favorite books are. The journey I had writing
this book is an example of what happens when writers get out of the way and let
the story go where it wants to go.

Did you relate to any of your characters at all?

JW: Great question! Both Peyton and Tara find solace
and a way to communicate through music, which I can relate to a lot. Writing
songs, playing guitar, and music in general definitely helped me get through
high school and beyond. Being in bands and working in recording studios – there
have been times when a recording studio has been a refuge for me.

I didn’t think about that at the time I was writing
the recording studio scenes with Peyton and Tara. But afterwards, looking back,
I realized they were able to express themselves there because they felt safe,
which was a feeling I’ve always had in a recording studio.

Also, the way Peyton sees the world - things are all
black or all white, things are either masculine or feminine, for girls or for
boys - that way of looking at things is something I grew up with, too. It took
me a while to see beyond it and embrace all the wonderful grey areas in life,
the areas that Tara so clearly sees at a young age. Tara sees those grey areas
because she’s had more exposure and experiences than Peyton.

Did you learn anything new about yourself throughout
the writing

process?

JW: Another great question! I learned that I could
write a novel. I learned that I am capable of patience and perseverance. I
learned that I could be patience not only with the process of writing a novel and
with myself during that process, but also with the people I worked with, especially
the two amazing editors of A Boy Like Me,
Kelly Ford and Mike Perkins.

Whenever I thought to myself – I can’t look at this
book one more time, I can’t do one more revision, I can’t revise one more scene
– I did. At one point, in final revisions, Kelly suggested I add some new
scenes with Peyton and his mother. I wanted to scream “No! No more!”

Because with new scenes comes more revisions, more
edits, more back and forth. But I added those scenes and the book is better for
it. I may have wanted to scream no, but I never said no to more work, to more
revision on this book.

What do you hope readers will take away from this
story?

JW: Peyton’s story is bittersweet. It’s not all rosy. Not
everyone accepts him. Not everyone gets it. And that felt true to me. But I
hope that readers come away from Peyton’s story with the feeling that the
struggle, hard work, and courage it takes to truly know each other and
ourselves is worth it. That there is some happiness on the other side of that
intense struggle to know and embrace who we are.

There will be a lot of young people who can relate to
Peyton’s story; do you have any advice for readers going through similar
situations?

JW: Advice is tricky because while some aspects of a
situation can be similar, other aspects can be different. In most cases, what a
person needs in these situations is not someone to give advice, but someone who
will listen.

In the book, Peyton has Uncle RB and Tara and later on
Dr. Wainwright (his therapist). Peyton’s struggle is that he has a hard time
talking to them, but for many, the struggle is finding someone who will just
listen, especially in these noisy, busy, distracting times. Many of us don’t
always have an Uncle RB or therapist or significant other. And even when we do
have someone, that person isn’t always available. So the best advice I can
offer is in those moments when there’s no one to listen and you feel terribly
alone, do what you need to do to endure the moment. Write in a journal or bang
on some drums or guitar, reach for a favorite book or CD, whatever thing gets
you through that moment.

There are moments – still – where I can’t dig myself
out of a hole on my own so I reach for the music of Florence + The Machine or
Amy Winehouse. And that music is enough to get me through a bad afternoon or
night until I can talk to someone about whatever the problem is. If you can
find a way, an outlet to get you through those moments of extreme loneliness,
you’ll be okay because beyond that moment, just around the corner, it does get
better, you will find someone to listen.

Finally, any tips for aspiring writers who have a
story to tell?

JW: While writing, let the story speak to you by getting
out of the way of it. It might take a draft or two or six (ha) before you
realize oh, this is a novel, or a YA novel, or a graphic novel or a short
story. Let your stories and writing go where it wants to go.

Don’t worry about where or when it’s going to be
published, especially while writing it. There are so many options out there –
traditional, indie, self-publishing, crowdfunding. When the work is ready for
an audience, the right path to that audience will become clear. When it’s ready,
your work will find its home.

A huge thank you to Jennie for her wonderful and insightful answers! You can read my review of A Boy Like Mehere.

Thursday, 2 April 2015

Synopsis:From one of the
brightest talents in children's fiction and the winner of the
Waterstones Children's Book prize comes a new novel about family and
friendship. Siblings Jonathan, Holly and Davy have been struggling to
survive since the death of their mother, and are determined to avoid
being taken into care. When the family's wealthy but eccentric
Great-Aunt Irene has a stroke, they go to visit her. Unable to speak or
write, she gives Holly some photographs that might lead them to an
inheritance that could solve all their problems. But they're not the
only ones after the treasure...

My Review:

Picking up this book was such a breath of fresh air for me.
Amongst reading so many dystopian worlds and complicated fantasy lands, this
book brought me back down to earth with a huge smile on my face.

This story follows siblings, Holly, Davy, and Jonathan, as
they try to track down jewellery left for them by their aunt. It’s a treasure hunt
which desperately makes you wish you
had something to chase up and down the country.

Holly is a delightful character. She’s full of optimism and
sass. It made me wish I could’ve been more like her when I was twelve-years-old!
Her determination to go hunting for the jewels and make life better for her and
her brothers is what makes this such a heart-warming story. It reminds you what
it’s like to be that young and feel like you can conquer any quest. I loved the
bond she had with her brothers. Even when she was angry at Jonathan, she’d
understand that he was just trying to do what was best for them all.

I fell a little bit in love with Jonathan and all his geeky
references. There is a scene in which he’s making up a story for Holly and
Davy, and he combines nearly all of the nerdy things I adore into it. After that,
it was impossible not to love him. He
showed personal strength throughout this book. He somehow managed to always keep
his cool even though he’d had to sacrifice so much. Fictional he may be, but there
are many young adults like him who step up to look after their younger siblings
when no one else is there to.

There are so many brilliantly quirky characters that pop-up
in the story to help the siblings with their mission, and I could picture each
of them perfectly in my head. I love adventures in which the main characters
get to meet a wide variety of different people on their journey. It makes it
impossible for the story to become dull.

This is a story that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages,
and it has something to offer to everyone. Humour, adventure, realism, and a
little bit of mystery, whatever you like reading, you can find it within these
pages.

This book had me smiling from ear-to-ear by the time I put
it down. The final paragraph is a quote I can imagine people will want to turn
into those cute, inspirational text images you often find on Pinterest. It’s a fitting
and wonderful ending to a really wonderful story.